"It seems I will need to give you a thorough training session before I leave. I can't have my top go-to person stuck at the peak of the 10th stage of the core formation realm. It would be remiss of me as your boss to leave an underling with so much potential unattended to.
Feng Xin, I'll need you here every day after work. I'll file the training with the administration as a standard valuation by the superior just to ensure everything is on the up and up. We are in the business of Order after all," Yang Qing said menacingly with a not-so-polite smile.
"Yi Jie..," Feng Xin who was full of hot air just seconds ago had now turned shriveled like a dried bark as he turned to Yi Jie for help.
"I happen to agree with him on this. If Yang Qing didn't do it, I planned to give you pointers myself. With me going into seclusion you will be the one left in charge of the team with Luo Meili to keep you in check.
With the current state of things and the targeted attacks on Order employees you all need to train harder especially you Feng Xin. At the very least you need to be at a level where you can guarantee your life against an early-stage palace realm expert without the use of talismans and other monarch-rank treasures. Who knows when the unexpected may happen?
Our enemies with results based off their attacks already know that every Order employee has atleast one treasure that is above their cultivation realm and have therefore been planning accordingly and refining their attack plans subsequently.
The attack on Lai Lei eight months ago should be proof of this," Yi Jie solemnly said.
"I know," Feng Xin's frivolous look turned solemn once he heard the mention of Lai Lei.
Lai Lei was an inquisitor who was a half-step into the palace stage just like Yi Jie presently. Eight months ago during the commission of his duties, he was besieged by fifteen half-step palace stage experts.
He managed to kill ten of his attackers, wound the rest, and even manage to escape alive but not without paying a price. His dantian had cracks and he had lost a leg and an arm. As cultivators regrowing limbs was easy but mending a dantian required incredible skills from someone atleast at the blue grade in terms of medicine and resources that were atleast in the upper ranks of the monarch grade.
Lucky for Lai Lei the Order had both however an attack on him and one that was at that scale had sent alarm bells in the Order. At first, they were even surprised how Lai Lei made it out of the besiegement intact. Yes, he was a seasoned inquisitor with a quasi-gold core that would make him one of the best at his level but dying with his opponents was the best-case scenario that the Order would have expected from such an encirclement.
It was only later through investigations that they discovered eight of the fifteen half-palace stage experts had reached that realm through artificial means such as employing secret arts and alchemical pills making their powers weaker than regular half-step palace stage experts. However, despite all this, they still presented a very real threat along with the seven other genuine half-step palace stage experts.
It was for this reason that the first thing Yang Qing did when he broke through to the palace stage was create talismans to try and increase his team's odds of survival just in case something like that were to happen.
"Has Dai Chen heard anything?" Yi Jie suddenly asked
"He hasn't. Those behind the attacks covered their tracks well. For the past few years the perpetrators have been getting better and better at hiding their tracks and leaving little to no clues to go by," Yang Qing sighed as he thought about Dai Chen.
Dai Chen did his best to hide it but those close to him could still tell the attack on his inquisitor and the dried-up clues hit him hard.
"Enough about that, we need to focus on the matter at hand which is the welcoming of two new members to this little group of ours," Yang Qing suddenly said as he put some cheer in his tone to try and uplift the somber mood.
"Right. I was curious about my two new teammates especially after hearing they were residents of the infamous green fog region I couldn't wait to meet you two. Are the spirit beasts there as infamous as the stories make them out to be? I've always wanted to go but sadly my cases never seemed to bring me there," Zheng Hu sighed in regret as he said this.
"Feng Xin, how was it there? seeing you got a firsthand experience of the place," Zheng Hu asked with a battle intent smile as he went to pour himself a cup of the 1,000-year-old silent lake elderberry wine.
"Well based on my brief interaction with them they had interesting abilities and they were above average as compared to normal spirit beasts. Battle-hardened and bloodthirsty too, though I think the latter is a detriment to them as it made them react mostly on instinct instead of using their intellect," Feng Xin said as his eyes got glued to the food spreading on the table.
"Though there was that one spirit beast that got away. A green flash viper. It showed astute battle awareness, intellect, and great judgment. I don't know if it was the leader but it ran away the instant I made my move with no hesitation. Even its positioning during the encirclement seemed well thought out.
I wonder what it tastes like. A powerful spirit beast like that definitely has devoured its fair share of precious herbs and other spirit beasts. It's bound to have a flavorful taste.
Oh yeah, Yi Jie that reminds me," Feng Xin who was already mid drool hurriedly fished out the corpse of the rapid snapper cotton mouth from his storage ring. The jaw was still thawing from the slice made by the eternal winter leaf.
"You can use its blood to make the eighth rising tide wine right? It may just be at the 5th stage of the core formation but it should still add some kick to the wine right? Even if it's just a tiny bit," Feng Xin said as he gently placed the rapid snapper cotton mouth on one of the tables.
Both Yi Jie and Yang Qing had already moved to the table as they closely scrutinized the corpse.
Bolin and Haishi had complicated looks as they watched their short-term 'teammate' get evaluated on his edibility.
The rapid snapper cotton mouth may not have been as powerful as any of the false kings but it was still one of the most powerful core formation spirit beasts beneath them, especially with its high speed, terrifying venom, and its steel-like scales. It made it a tough opponent to face off against which was why the black cosmos caiman favored it as one of its trusted henchmen.
Bolin was at the 6th stage, one minor realm above it but even he didn't have the confidence of defeating it let alone the introvert Haishi whose only combat experience involved fighting insects in the foundation stage as she avoided any spirit beast at the core formation realm. She had an overly cautious ability and the only times she did anything remotely adventurous was following after the green flowered babirusa to enjoy the bounty it left behind. She thought today would be the same as all the other countless times before, she'd follow the babirusa find an area filled with precious herbs, eat her part and head back to her lair to sleep. But here she was, a soon-to-be mount and the green flowered babirusa turned into an ingredient and soon-to-be delicacy.
Though she doesn't know if it was because of her brief encounter with Feng Xin but every now and then she couldn't help but be curious about what the babirusa tasted like.
"No, No I will not eat you even if they offer. We may have not been friends but we could be considered long-time acquaintances. It's the least I can do…but if they threaten me to take a bite, I'm sorry rosa I will have to but I will do it begrudgingly," Haishi thought. Though internally she seemed conflicted her greedy shining compound eyes painted a different picture.
…..
Oblivious to Haishi's dilemma, the trio of Feng Xin, Yi Jie, and Yang Qing were busy verbally dissecting the rapid snapper cotton mouth as they bargained back and forth. After a heated debate and each member satisfied with their end, Yi Jie carefully drained its blood into a small brown gourd which despite its size was able to completely fit all the blood from the over 100-meter rapid snapper cotton mouth.
Once Yi Jie was done with his bit Feng Xin and Yang Qing teamed up to carve up the rapid snapper cotton mouth like skilled professionals with their finely crafted silver knives.
They expertly stripped off the skin with not even a minuscule flesh being cut out, removed the guts, and finally cleaned it with water filled with spiritual qi. Once they were satisfied they diced it into thin slices and slathered it with a mixture of eggs, herbs, and spices that Yang Qing had on hand.
"Only when food is involved do these two show a modicum of seriousness," Mao Yunru said as she showed up in a company of five. There were three ladies and two men. All three of the ladies were breathtakingly beautiful that they would put a clear serene moon to shame however they all paled to Mao Yunru with her big cloud-like eyes, loosely hanging purple hair, a short sleeve dress that had purple flowers on it, and a light white scarf. One of the men accompanying her would sneakily throw glances despite being warned off by the other gentleman by his side.
The gentleman throwing glances had blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a medium build with an ocean blue robe on. He looked like a noble that many princesses would madly swoon over while the gentleman warning him was slenderly built, a lanky build, and had deep black hair tied in a topknot. He had almost baggy eyes and a tired look to him with his pale white skin. He looked like a librarian who never sees the light of day from burying himself in books.
Yang Qing who was busy at work had his pupils pause briefly when he saw Mao Yunru but he quickly averted his gaze before anyone could notice as he dealt with the rapid snapper cotton mouth.
Mao Yunru quickly covered her neck which had a faint blush.
One of the ladies accompanying Mao Yunru who had black flowing hair that had reached half her back couldn't help but narrow her eyes once she noticed Mao Yunru's and Yang Qing's reactions.
"Interesting," she lightly murmured to herself as she chuckled.
